Today was an active day – with a 12km hike ahead of us.
In the early morning we met our guide and made our way to Salento’s main plaza to fetch a jeep to the trail head for our Cocora Valley hike.

The valley is part of the Los Nevados National Park, it is home of the Quindío wax palm, Colombia’s national symbol is grown.

The rain of the previous days had left it marks behind … the trail was fairly muddy in parts. We kicked it off walking up the valley, then into the forest and further up to a hummingbird sanctuary. From here – after a break for a drink and some time to watch the hummingbirds feast on sugary water –  it was down and then up again (including some mud-sliding) to the highest point of the hike with some good views.
We continued downhill with more and better views of the valley coming up at each corner – one of those view points made the perfect spot for lunch.

The hike ended at the point, where we had started. The complete loop had taken us around five hours (including breaks). From here it was back to the jeeps and back to Salento for a well deserved shower – and (for some) souvenir shopping or another cup of coffee.